Two Jewish infants in New Jersey were recently infected with — but survived — a herpes virus attributed to their ritual circumcisers’ use of an oral suctioning technique that is said to have caused the death of an infant in New York in September.

Dr. Margaret Fisher, chair of pediatrics at Monmouth Medical Center, told the Forward that a newborn boy was admitted to the center within the past month, infected with the virus, known as HSV-1, within days of his circumcision. The other case “was in the last year or two,” said Fisher, a pediatric infectious disease specialist. Both boys had herpes lesions on their genitals but “extremely mild cases,” she said, and both were successfully treated for 10 days with intravenous anti-viral medication.

The two babies were admitted to a hospital close to Lakewood, N.J., which is home to a large ultra-Orthodox community.

News of the New Jersey infections comes amid renewed debate sparked by the report of the baby who died in September of HSV-1, acquired when his mohel orally suctioned his circumcision wound, according to New York City officials. The procedure, known in Hebrew as metzitzah b’peh, was last blamed for causing an infant death in New York in 2006.

That's OK when my rabbi was a woman (reform) ;) I would look at her
like "Oh would you like to circumcise me rabbi?" I was like
cmon rabbi lets do this! ;) LOL. Just Kidding.I was never unprofessional
about it. In fact it just dawned on me with my nasty ass. However,
Sucking the blood from a baby? That's nasty, a BABY! Don't eat BLOOD
stupid! I just needed a prick from the mohel. Now I know better.
Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. LOL The Lord be clowning yall.

This practice is against Jewish law -- it is clearly a case of
endangering the child's health and life. While the practice could be
understandable in another era when we did not know about viruses and
bacteria, it is clearly an impermissible violation of the child's health
today and it can be easily avoided.